NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said Monday there was no conversion of some agricultural lands in Hinoba-an as claimed by environmental group Green Alert Network (GAN).

“Originally, it was an industrial zone,” the governor emphasized, adding that it was not converted from agricultural land, though the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) had issued certificates of land ownership awards.

The governor stressed the area was an industrial zone and its distribution to the agrarian reform beneficiaries by DAR is “illegal.”

Moreover, Marañon said the proposed construction of a Japanese shipbuilding facility in Hinoba-an town is still a go though he expressed apprehensions after sale of properties hit a snag.

“Ang akon lang nakulbaan, basi ma tak-an ang Hapon. Ma hambal sila na sa kasabad sa inyo na mga Pilipino, masaylo nalang kami iban na lugar (My concern is that the Japanese may get tired of the long process. They might say that Filipinos are hard to deal so they would take their business venture elsewhere),” the governor said.

He added that the proposed project could generate 5,000 jobs for local residents.

On the claims that the project will destroy the environment, Marañon said that Japanese corporations are “very, very careful on environmental protection.”

“In the Philippines, you could see garbage anywhere, but in Japan, it’s very clean. They’re very conscious of their environment. And environmental protection was included in their proposal,” the governor added.